SEWARD, Neb. -- Sept. 1, 2017 -- Chadron State College volleyball got off to a decent start to the 2017 campaign, playing at the Concordia College-Nebraska Bulldog Bash on Friday. The morning saw the Eagles sweep the local York College Spartans, while the afternoon contest went 3-1 to the host Bulldogs.

Standing out for the Eagles in a big way were seniors Emily Bruce and Gaby Varela, who both set new personal standards. The 7.67 digs per set by Bruce against York were her most ever in an Eagle win, while Varela maximized her offensive potency with new career-best hitting percentages of .370 and .429 against the eastern Nebraska NAIA schools.

"We played really well, we were competitive, and we were swinging in the windows," said CSC Head Volleyball Coach Riann Mullis. "It was important to us to keep the offense dynamic, fast, and consistent. It shows in our stats and in the sweep. I was really happy with how we played in our first match."

The win over York, with sets of 25-18, 25-18, and 25-23, was the first the CSC program has taken in an opener since 2013, when the Eagles defeated Newman University 3-2. It is the first sweep of an opening match since 2005.

Setters Madison Webb and Mickey Trimble combined for a whopping 11.67 assists per set in the victory, providing a powerful nucleus for the Eagle offense.

The second match looked to be headed toward a 2-0 start for the Eagles, but turned sharply on a late second-set rally by Concordia which put the Eagles into a slide from which they could not recover.

CSC won the first set 25-21, and bore down on taking a second set when at 22-18, the home team went on a 7-1 run to force the tie. The Eagles would not challenge in the remaining rounds, falling 18-25 and 15-25 in the third and fourth.

"We were playing really well in the first set," said Mullis. "They really challenged us in the second, and we weren't able to bounce back. We got out-energized, and we weren't controlling our side of the net. Concordia is a great team, but when we're giving them 14 points a set, that's on us. We lost our momentum and consistency. We've got to figure out how we're going to grow and maintain those two things going into tomorrow."

Despite the loss, Varela continued to make strides and finished with 17 kills to just five errors, for her best hitting percentage as an Eagle.

Mullis took mostly positive from the first day of the season.

"We have some really talented players," the coach said. "We have to get comfortable with each other, and we have to stay aggressive. We have to swing aggressively and be smart, and we'll be fine."